4WAAM – We Review the New Spicer Performance Shocks

As part of the initial build on my new 2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Recon, we had the opportunity to try out a remote reservoir shock system provided by Spicer. The Spicer remote reservoir shocks live up to everything they claim on their product page description.

Installing these shocks is as simple as installing any other shock. They come packaged with all the hardware like any other shock. What really sticks out with these shocks are the remote reservoir retainers. Instead of just being wire tied to the main body or spending time figuring out where to anchor them elsewhere on the Jeep, they are equipped with red anodized aluminum clamps to the body and reservoir. Beyond having a sharp appearance, the two-piece design makes it easy to add your anchors and adjust the reservoirs. After you have everything bolted up on your shock mounts, simply move the reservoir where you think it looks best, and tighten up the two-piece clamps! Done.

By keeping the clamps loose, even after securing the shock to the mounts, you will easily be able to rotate the reservoirs into perfect positions front and rear. The slim nature of the tubes makes it very easy to clear the rear sway bar and leaves plenty of room in the front shock tower.

The only thing we noticed that could be considered a con is the urethane front bushings are susceptible to compressing irregularly. My lower shock mount was relocated on the lift I chose and after running for a few thousand miles, you could certainly tell the urethane bushing had adjusted to the angle instead of maintaining a uniform thickness all the way around the upper bolt. However, this did not cause any sort of negative ride condition, unwanted contact passing through the upper shock mount, or impact shock performance.

Speaking of performance, this is one area I was extremely happy with. Everyone needs just a little something different out of their shocks. Driving styles and comfort preferences may leave operators wishing that their shocks were a little softer or a tad more aggressive. These shocks allow you to very easily fine-tune dampening behavior by rotating the red anodized adjuster knob at the bottom of the reservoir. I took some time to dial in what worked for me and, even after several off-road trips, the adjustments never slipped or inadvertently wandered.

Lastly, I must stress the superior quality of finish and design. For this build, we were selecting products that had OEM or better performance AND appearance. Unlike some other upgrades out there, these shocks will continue to look brand new with minimal effort. After thousands of miles of driving in the rain and off-roading, all it took for these to look new again was quick rinse from the hose. The shock and reservoir bodies showed no signs of oxidation or discoloring. After the rinse (or a drive in heavy rain) the red anodized finish popped like new.

Between being able to rebuild/recharge these shocks, being able to easily fine-tune performance, and the superior quality of material, these are shocks that you won’t want or need to replace.